Bill that would ban the use of state tax dollars to lobby lawmakers filed in Ky. House

Dubbed the “Bye, Bye, BULL Act.”

(Story Courtesy of Kentucky Today)

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Legislation that would ban the use of state tax dollars to lobby the legislative and executive branches of government has been filed  by Rep. Felicia Rabourn, R-Pendleton, which she has dubbed the “Bye, Bye, BULL Act.”

“If we are to serve as stewards of taxpayer resources, the last thing we need to do is allow state-funded organizations to use tax dollars to lobby for policies that may or may not benefit our constituents,” Rabourn said. “This is a commonsense piece of good government legislation and I look forward to talking a great deal about it with my colleagues and passing it this session.”

The measure, House Bill 309, would prevent state agencies, programs and public colleges and universities from expending state tax dollars on lobbying efforts, including prohibiting the hiring of liaison positions aimed directly at influencing policy.

“Taxpayer dollars should be exclusively dedicated to public services and programs, rather than being diverted to influence lawmakers. This practice continues to grow and just leads to misuse of public funds. It creates an uneven playing field, where organizations with access to taxpayer money have disproportionate influence in shaping that benefit them and not the people they serve,” Rabourn added.

HB 309 also includes a penalties section that empowers both the Legislative Ethics Commission and the Executive Branch Ethics Commission to investigate potential violations. If the violations are found to be true, the commissions could issue penalties that include a class A misdemeanor for the first offense, punishable by up to a year in jail, and make subsequent offenses a class D felony, with a 1-5 year prison sentence, if convicted.

Read the entire text of HB 309 and follow it as it moves through the legislative process here.